Movie review: 'Awkward Moment' tries too hard to be funny

In the bromantic comedy “That Awkward Moment,” Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan are three almost-30 best buds who make a pact to stay single.

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By Dana BarbutoThe Patriot Ledger

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Dana BarbutoThe Patriot Ledger

Posted Jan. 31, 2014 at 6:15 AM
Updated Feb 1, 2014 at 7:42 AM

By Dana BarbutoThe Patriot Ledger

Posted Jan. 31, 2014 at 6:15 AM
Updated Feb 1, 2014 at 7:42 AM

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In the bromantic comedy "That Awkward Moment," Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan are three almost-30 best buds who make a pact to stay single.

About relationships, finding love and figuring out who you are, the film's flimsy premise is fine, if overfamiliar. But, first-time writer/director Tom Gormican makes rookie mistakes. His tonal shifts, writing and style are an eye-rolling mess, in spite of a cast that features some of young Hollywood's rising stars in Jordan ("Fruitvale Station"), Teller ("The Spectacular Now") and Imogen Poots ("Jane Eyre"). She charms as Efron's love interest, but that's about the only appeal the movie offers.

Gormican might think he's making an original romantic comedy by telling the story from the male perspective. He's wrong. Just because the anatomy is different and there are a few sophomoric laughs about discolored penises, the results are still weighed down by every cliche in the genre. Big third act declarations of love? Yup. Friends who become lovers? Check. Sex with the ex? Certainly. Commitment issues? Without fail. Manhattan setting? Naturally. Contrived plot devices? You betcha. Secrets revealed during holiday celebrations? Of course.

When we catch up with the boys, Mikey's (Jordan) a doctor who's been dumped by his wife. Friends Jason (Efron) and Daniel (Teller) prescribe booze-fueled nights and hook ups with random women to cure his broken heart. The guys – straight-laced Mikey, pretty-boy Jason and clownish Daniel – strike a deal to stay single. If a girlfriend starts a relationship talk with "so," they bail, because their belief is that when it comes to girls, nothing good follows the word "So." As in, "So, where is this relationship going?"

All of them eventually ignore their own rules and are most content when they're secretly "girl happy." Teller's Daniel is the film's funny bone, a hilarious motor mouth, who falls for his female wingman (Mackenzie Davis). Efron's Jason becomes smitten after a one-night stand with Ellie (Poots). Jordan's Mikey spends the film trying to rekindle the romance with his cheating wife.

What Gormican seeks is to be "The Hangover" with heart for the 20something set. He relies on a running joke involving Daniel's bowel movements, and other testosterone-fueled antics that flail. Most of what flies on screen is painfully predictable, unfunny and misogynistic. Treat a girl like crap, and she always comes back. That's a super message.

When it's time for his characters to get serious, the director handles the shift in tone more awkwardly than any of the titular moments the film promises.